Saturday musings

So it is Saturday, so I am taking this post a little easy, since not many people read blogs on the weekend.

I promised to discontinue covering the Honduran political situation on Facebook, and will do my best to minimize talking about it here, especially since for the most part, the situation has not changed...at least for most of the country. Down near the border, the people are suffering due to Mel's camping out there and continual threats/promises of coming back. Most people, even his supporters, are growing weary of promises not fulfilled. This week has been just an amazing and sad yet funny turn of events. Here is the funny, yet true, recap: Mel says he is going to leave the border and camp out in the mountains, training his "people's army" (using Sandinista bases) a "popular militia" for causing revolt...oh, but of course he then added "they will be peaceful." Peaceful armies militias for revolt...sure. By the end of the week, he abandoned that and said "either change back the government, or generalized violence is coming." I would be scared if I had actually seen him do anything that he had promised up until now. It is not funny to see how people are suffering here because all of this, but at some point you have to just laugh so you do not cry. So we laugh.

Valerie told me yesterday about a patient she had, a guy in his mid 20s who had a rather serious problem that was compromising his vision in one eye. She gave him the news that his vision was not correctable....and quickly discovered he was about to faint. Marlen happened to knock and enter the room just then, and after they both held up his feet and talked him through it...he came out of it. And then they were able to talk about it, his future, and Christ helping him in it.

She also mentioned that the new "chats" that the staff are giving are going very well, that everyone is motivated and does well in front of a crowd. Now we just need to get them videotaped. Levi's presentation on abortion was most interesting so far, as the term for miscarriage in Spanish involves that word, abortion. Not only were they able to talk about everything medically, but also about what God's word says, etc.

Thursday I had to help Cecilia with some homework. As she is learning to read (and encouragingly now able to pick up on small words) she has at some points to cut and paste text that includes certain syllables. So, for your Spanish reading pleasure (those that read Spanish) I am including something I created just to get a text to paste, for her to then circle all the lla lle llo llu lli portions. A riviting story...I have yet to sell the movie rights, but am still entertaining offers.

"Recibí una llamada sobre una llama que había llamado sobre un llave que necesitaba para abrir la puerta a su casa. Bueno, para mí darle una copia de su llave, él tenía que llenar un formulario y llevar eso a mi jefe cuando llegó al lugar. Allí comenzó todo el rollo, porque la llama lloró por no haber traido un lápiz, parece que el pollo que andaba en el camino se lo robó, un pollo muy agalludo, aunque la llave estaba escondido en su cabello, y eso es un llama muy velludo. Entonces al final yo puse mi sello en el formulario para poder seguir todo antes que venia la lluvia, y la llama consiguió su llave, y vive siempre en felicidad en su casa…con su llave."

Interesting chats

(I warn you...this blog post includes some disturbing pictures of open wounds below in the Honduran health care system. If you are squeemish, better to navigate away now.)

The group departed yesterday, as planned. The airport was relatively empty for July, due no doubt to the ongoing political situation. My friend at Continental said there were only 51 going

back on the plane, out of 125 seats. I saw them off, thankful for the faith they had to come despite many things that could have just as easily made them decide against coming. I then proceeded back up to the clinic to sort some things before the kids got out of school.

I found Celeo waiting for Oscar to get some shoes (no clothes...not for another several weeks yet it appears) and we ended up having some time to talk (why? I will come to that.) We ended up spending most of the time talking about that pesky political situation. We like life so cut and dry, but in talking to him I was reminded yet again that things are not often as they would seem, and as much as we would want to back one side and ignore/reject/hate/etc. the other, the truth of the situation often lies in between. (pun intended) Disagree or not, but his position was one of blaming the rich of the country for controlling things, not really allowing the majority to help choose the leaders of the country, and for misinformation coming from print and TV media owned by those same rich families. Some even say this whole thing was cooked up by the richest eight families in Honduras. It was good to hear his point of view...even when he said he wanted information from an unbiased source....like CNN or one of the few pro-Zelaya TV stations here. I pointed out they were just as biased to the other side as he was accusing the others...then he said "that is why I just prefer to ignore it all and listen to Christian radio, music or sermons. And when it comes time to vote, I won't be participating in that either. We are to be set apart...there is no justice on this Earth, no fairness, only from God. So why do other religious people put their faith in the political leaders around them, or align themselves with those leaders instead of instead focusing on the spiritual crisis around us?" I thought that was indeed interesting. Instead of being so concerned about who is in power, what kind of government there is...how about remembering Who is in power, and what kind of government He is?

So, I had that time to talk to him because I had to tell him Oscar would not be coming....he was involved in an accident. No bodily injuries, and the Ford is still drivable (only damage to the license plate I believe he said) but the car he rear ended...not so good. Apparantly the car in front of him decided to stop in the road (the ring road that goes around the city...no stop lights, and he had a full load of construction supplies in the bed) and that did not give him enough time to stop. Ugh. So we will get to go through that process yet again.

I peeked into the clinic to say hi, but everyone was moving or working in one area or another...even with Valerie gone to Bible study, there were quite a few people waiting for the other areas of the clinic, and I got to see some of the health chat signs that the nursing students and staff have done and posted. Next step is to tape those chats, and then be able to show them in the waiting room every day...all of them. That will take some time and effort, but should be worth it, especially as you read the following about just a brief chit chat about health care here.

Darwin and his girlfriend Sandra stopped by the house. She is a doctor now going through the process to be a pediatrician, and Darwin is the FAME scholarship recipient who is in his sixth year of medical school. We were talking about a few things as he picked up a donated laptop for him to use for schooling, and talking about our group's latest hospital visit...how powerfully good and bad it was (seeing the children so excited....seeing the near death cases and in one case, the baby bundled in a trash bag that had died shortly before our arrival) and then he shared these pictures with me of patients he has seen.

This is a patient with advanced problems due to diabetes. Diabetes is so prevelant here, and getting proper care is not usually readily available. Taking care of oneself is not commonly found either as many of you already know. The education needed for those with diabetes is also sorely lacking. I am highly thinking of printing this picture for our clinic...people sometimes need to be shocked into knowing that what they may not see now can in fact produce terrible things like this in the future.

.

.

.

.

This person had a bed sore. I know the nurses and doctors are overworked in the hospital, but this is...well, you can see what it is, I do not think I need to try to find a word for it.

We usually focus on the kids in the hospital and can sometimes see things that seem to be neglect, but this? His opporunity to ministry there is huge, and in cases like this, can be overwhelming. In the past we have received some hygiene kits he has been able to give to needy patients, hopefully we can get more in the future.

It was good to talk to them both, and also easy to see in their faces the toll taken on their bodies in working (and then coming from helping prepare a body for burial) such long hours and in such conditions. We saw a child that died when we were there on Friday...that had happened when Sandra was on duty and she had to help deal with that. Pray for both of them as they confront some of the worst situations day in and day out. At the clinic things can present sometimes that are bad, but at the hospital here it is even worse.

Corn

Sunday with the group we did something a little different. I would say that most of the time we use Sunday afternoons for clothing distributions, because more people are available. But as it worked out with this group, we chose to do a corn distribution (some of the last corn we currently have) with the Church's evangelism team...in this particular case with Haydi, Elmer and Jorge...visiting families they identifed in a few neighborhoods where they have been focusing, and where they are focusing now. They tried to use the 20 bags of corn we took to identify those that needed the help the most on Sunday, and that was not hard to see in who we visited...just the physical places where they lived, or the stories of no work, problems, etc. that they share....although I must add that everyone seemed so happy to see us and talk to us. I am guessing the corn had something to do with that.

There was at least one husband of a woman we were visiting who was a little too happy to see us (read...drunk) but everyone was very grateful....for the corn, and several for the visit from the group and the evangelism team, and very encouraged and surprised by the seeds the group had for them, and the kids very excited for the hacky sacks and jump ropes.

(This picture is from a walk-through or drive-through restaurant of sorts as we were stopped. Note the non-fossil fuel method of cooking....very normal here, if not in drive-throughs, then in people's homes.)

I should point out...not one person brought up any politician's names. We talked about the hard situation here now....mostly the lack of work, the lack of stuff getting done which somewhat revolves around that, but not specifically that whole mess in and of itself.

Here we have our ever vigilent truck watchers.

Cecilia was in the other truck, but Soren and this kid had fun at ever stop with the hacky while we went in...it was good for them to get out and about doing something again, it has been a month or so since they last got to participate.

And away we go

I can almost feel the need to just have a forum to have a cathartic release, but I promise I will try to restrain myself instead. How about a family sort of wrap up, a brief foray into politics, and then on to the group activities instead?

Valerie has been sick for over a week now. She has been so responsible though, and keeping up with everything expected of her, and the expectations she puts on herself, most nights though collapsing to sleep shortly after supper. Today though after taking the kids home she called me almost in tears...she just could not muster the strength to get back in the car. Not that she was emotionally spent (although that too) but she was just drained. She slept all afternoon, ate when I finally got home at 7, and then went back to bed again...still tired. Of course, even with sleeping...she woke up enough to call me a few times with necessary tasks that needed to be completed in her absence. Yesterday she did all the work of Levi, who was out sick...and still saw 12 patients. Simply amazing. I believe I can speak for her in saying...God is simply amazing.

Cecilia and Soren made this beautiful Lego masterpiece to show me when I got home tonight. I guess one good part of the next group cancelling is that I will obviously have to have more time to spend with them than I do this week. I know they pray for me...they know what we do is worth what we have to give, but of course the balance has to be there as well of investing in them as well. Speaking of that....we are heavily leaning towards changing their schooling. Next week we will take them to see the other school. Oscar and Julia found it, and it is the same name as the school where they are currently enrolled, but this school is bilingual, using a pace system that would better fit with US style education, would provide more time at school, less trivial homework, and be not nearly as close to the clinic, but for a price could bus the kids back home. Cost would be double what we are paying now (1/2 what Oscar was paying however....we are getting a discount for being missionaries) but it would seem this would be a great opportunity to make a switch that could benefit the kids in the long run. We will see what they think about it after Tuesday. I pray they will see it as a positive change and be ready for it.

The Musso is back up running at peak efficiency after some electrical gremlins. I thought those gremlins only lived in British vehicles. Hmmmm. Valerie is back to driving it. As nice as the Land Cruiser is for groups and overall toughness, she seems to be preferring that 11 year old vehicle. So we are sticking to the plan to sell the Defender, but are waiting for a return to more normalcy before taking out another advertisement in the paper....mostly things are fine, but for major purchases like that, I think most people are taking a wait-and-see approach.

How goes that political stuff? I mean really, here is where I would like to unload some, but I am sure this must get boring for most all of you outside Honduras. The current government continues to seemingly handle all the manipulated press reports and just outright lies coming from Mel and being then forwarded on to millions of unsuspecting readers/viewers abroad in a fashion that is remarkable. Are they perfect? No. But there are so many ways this could have gone bad, and so far....they seem to be doing swimmingly. Mel on the other hand continues to put his foot in his mouth with lies about how the country is in civil war, military roaming the streets just looking for fights, etc. His supporters seem to be dwindling. I guess just the fact that he continues to make promises about his return (among others) and continues to not follow through with them would put a damper on his image (although those that are that big of a supporter obviously were not paying attention the last several years.) The latest occurrence was today. He had made claims since a week ago...He was hours from being in Honduras. Hours turned to days, days to more days. Then a big to-do driving in a Jeep with guns (but insisting they would cross the border unarmed...interesting) from Managua to the boarder to set up the crossing. (Hello, just cross already!) Then today he did the equivalent of someone putting their big toe in a pool and deciding it was too cold to jump in....he came up to the chain marking the boarder, and with soldiers a few meters away, lifted the chain, said some stuff....and then went back to Nicaragua. The lies, and just pure political posturing was before that, during, and continues after with interviews and such. Trying to keep up with it is just draining...because other than the actual possibility of Chavez throwing enough support his way for this to turn ugly...I could care less what he has to say....his words have so little value because he never puts any actions behind them.

God's word has overwhelmingly proved itself due to the actions behind it. The group that is here just being here is an example. Yesterday visiting families in Talanga (with protests at the city limits being of absolutely no bother to us by the way...you will notice that of all the threats, claims etc. we have a group here, and are going about life with no interruptions) with corn was very impressive yet again to see lives touched, the physical hunger, and spiritual hunger there are amazing. This group not only brought corn to give, but also had a garden full of seeds to give each family, which additionally made some eyes widen to the future possibilities. I will be interested to see what Celeo finds in following up with some of those folks in the coming months.

The group gave us a bunch of seeds as well, and I believe that solves a growing problem we have had with cancelling groups and in general...what to do with Dora. She is full time, and there is at least one person sending money to help us keep her on in spite of what would otherwise be a business decision of not being able to do so. How to properly use her time in August and beyond has been something we have been thinking over a great deal. For now she was helping sort meds, package things, etc. for the clinic as well as maintaining the grounds, but now we will fence off the area around and behind the new clinic....and she will begin a garden, as well as in front of the clinic begin to start a small flower bed, etc. This will be very exciting to see how well it does, and then hopefully have the possibility to show this to others in the community and see if in a CHE like way, we can spread that vision.

Today's visit to the hospital was a little rougher than normal. No time is what I would call easy, and the first ward was not as bad as usual with fewer kids admitted (due to repairing some pipes overhead....not sure how that helped the 8 or so that were still there however. But in the hydrocephalus ward, I saw two children I had seen previously....children like Maria Suyapa, who is in the care of the child services branch of the government. She was born with a cleft palate, blind, and hydrocephalus, and then abandoned by her mother. I know that when it comes to our spiritual lives, we were scared far beyond that in God's eyes, and He still did it all to make us right, and I know that sin causes these illnesses, we live in a fallen world and death and illness come through that...looking at her and thinking about the sheer mountains she will climb (if she even survives or ever is able to leave that hospital) in life....it is hard. I know there are tremendous possibilities for her life to be a total dedication to God and I pray to Him for her, but in my human skin and perspective...I would be lying if I said to recognize all that and just pray and walk away was easy.


We met this little boy and gave his mother a stuffed animal. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking many of these little ones with so many problems are too far gone. But this little boy...his eyes lit up, and he just stared, and laughed, and giggled at this stuffed animal. Something so trivial, so small...not only brought something to him, but to see him doing that brought joy to his mother. She knew where that toy came from, we prayed for her and for him. What kind of work is God going to do long term through things like this? My knees knock in fear and trembling...knowing I am but an insignificant cog in this great machine....I can rejoice in my smallness and puny-ness at how great and awesomely big God is.


The milk project was done in a way I am quite sure has never been done before. This group raised $250 to do the milk project this week, and it renewed in me a desire to see this project grow some more in the future, the possibility of which God seems to be providing means and ways to be done soon. Instead of just telling a story (which we still did....I discovered that I can not say King Nebuchadnezzer very well in Spanish...or in English if I really tried to pronounce it correctly) and serving the traditional milk and cookies, they went with us to get supplies to make two PB&J (grape jelly of course...you know who you are) sandwiches for each child (210 sandwiches in the end if you are counting) have an apple, a glass of milk, some granola bars, oatmeal, and a small toy (hacky sack for boys, jump rope for girls) for each child. We had I believe exactly the number we were shooting for...100 kids. We may look at the possibility to do PB&J more in the future for the kids...it may be more expensive, but would seem to provide more nutrition to the kids than what we normally are able to provide.

Samepdrana mission house

Yes, it used to be just the former test building for the new clinic, then a bodega, then a place to sleep in a pinch, but now the building is taking shape as an honest to goodness mission house...sans kitchen. All this is due to a group from a Church in Ohio. They were not able to end up coming to see the fruits of their labor (concern over the political scene here...they changed to Costa Rica for their trip at the last minute) but the group that is here now certainly was.

(You can see the newly constructed portion of the building...the second floor...peeking here out of the coffee from the view from the street. The building int he bottom of the shot is the Church building for those that have been there trying to locate themselves.) I have not started trying to think up a nickname for this building yet...but I am sure that between my twisted mind and those of you all, we will think of something.

Once we knew the group that funded the project would not be able to come, Oscar sprung into action to take Miguel and Juan up to help Gender start...and finish the major construction, so we would be sure it was done the way he imagined it and had sketched it out for Gender. After that was done, our construction priority for this current group changed to became that the wood needed to be cured/sealed/protected, and then varnished.

(Seen here...the wall to the left of the one seen above...unvarnished. You can also see the electropanel first floor and a bit of how they were tied together.)

The first floor was the test building for the electropanel. We worked more this morning finishing a second coat of varnish all the way around of the wood portion of the building after getting one coat of sealer and one of varnish yesterday, and then as well painting the first (and hopefully only needed) coat of the white sealer inside and out of the first floor. There are a few walls that still need to be painted, plus a medium green color for the outside of the first floor....which hopefully later we could have some talented people help us decorate with other seemingly natural coffee plants as well.

Oscar is always one to follow all OSHA standards and practices, as can be seen here with our great Woot purchase of a metal ladder combined with a high standard Sampedrana built wood ladder and only the finest rope holding it together most of the time. It was the best method available for getting all the nooks and crannies with the varnish on the back side of the building. Although it looks like he is only a few feet off the ground....right there he is about 12 feet or more, and at one point was even further up the metal ladder.

You can also see in this picture the attached bathroom space that will be finished in the coming weeks. Much of what was needed was already bought (fixtures, etc.) but there was not quite enough wood, so Gender will tackle that next week. Hopefully the next time we are there....it will be possible to use those facilities and even take a shower....a cold shower, if it is needed/desired. Next up for the future would be putting more bunk beds upstairs for bigger groups that stay there, and figuring out some lighting solution. There should be enough funds given for that construction to provide for some basic lighting. Maybe instead of bunk beds we should do Gilligan/Skipper style hammocks. Oooooh, that would give the house even more of a cool feel. Hmmmm.

And this was one of my views trying to reach the highest part of the building from the lowest point of the surrounding property....fun for your neck. I decided on this particular spot for picture taking because it highlighted the difference the varnish was making, plus you can see the lovely spider and his/her web in the coffee plant next to me. Plenty of outdoor life around for discovery...whether I wanted to discover or not.

After working last night, we also showed a movie....the followup of what the CIY group brought, the Chronicles of Narnia II, Prince Caspian. Due to confusion between Oscar and Gender, the word did not get spread very well about that being the movie we were going to show until the night before, so there was not quite the crowd we normally have...but those that came were highly motivated. Oscar talked to one family that was heading out after the movie in the rain to go home...they walked 2 1/2 hours to get there, just to see the movie. Just thinking about that is enough to flabbergast me, let alone thinking that they returned at 9:30....in the dark, in the rain, with cloud cover and no moon light....up the mountain. Wow.

Oh, and the political situation? Oh, about the same thank you very much. More talk, more rhetoric, more rumors and fear being spread, but our entire trip went off without a hitch...except the funny police stop when he asked for Oscar's ID and Oscar said "Why? He's driving!" Funny because he and I both knew that he was asking because of all the venezuelans, nicaraguans, etc. that are illegally in the country helping...with all sorts of fun stuff. I continue to marvel at some of the stories, things politicians are saying...and the threats, violence, and vandalism from those that are proporting to support "democracy"...or at least as they see it. Even talking with one teacher at a public school today....some of the teacher's unions want to continue to protest for Mel, and as such their leaders are telling their teachers that they are not allowed to have their schools open or teach, upon threats of violence. Violence? Good grief, how about a sanction, a tardy slip or such, but...violence for wanting to leave the political to the political and instead take their time to teach? How dare they! This teacher said he was going to come anyway (to Sampedrana mind you...not exactly downtown) and that there would be ten fathers of the kids there to keep the school open. Oscar said that one teacher (they have not gone back to work since June 28th) when asked why they should continue to receive their pay when they are not working answered with what I can imagine was total sincerity..."we are teaching the children a lesson in civics." From everything I have seen from this particular faction of Honduran society....those leaders could use a refresher course in what they are supposedly teaching.

Make a difference

Have I mentioned before that all the amazing things that are happening here....I am just one guy, sometimes I do not get to hear everything that goes on everywhere every day. Valerie perks up yesterday, saying "Oh, I forgot to tell you!" I knew it would be a good story...."one of my patients had Christ enter his heart yesterday!" I inquired more on our semi-date-afternoon yesterday. He had been her patient since 2000, and has also seen Reina. He has retinitis pigmentosa. He can still see....but very, very little. How he gets around, let alone works (at a gas station pumping gas no less) is quite impressive. Before the exam, Valerie and he were talking about a variety of things, and he mentioned his son who was a Christian, and that seemed to take up all his time, he just wanted to go and do what he could, etc. But that when he went...all the noise (oh, that is why he saw Reina...his hearing is going as well) he could not really pray or get anything out of it or make any sense of it. Valerie said....if Christ is not in you, then you would not get anything out of it, it would not make sense and be just like your physical sight and hearing. They talked some more, and she had the feeling to ask him if he wanted to pray about repentance and recognizing what Christ did for him. He did...but he did not know how to pray. So they prayed together, she led him, and they talked about him going to his son and to the Church he attends to be discipled.

So, there is just one story for you from Friday.

The political scene here is just as filled with words as it has been for the past week or so. Mel, his wife and Hugo baby all made remarks on Friday and Saturday that he was "en route" "hours away" etc. from somehow re-entering Honduras. Notice no specifics there? Mel is nothing if not verbose, shaky on details, and rare to follow through on promises. No Mel, and the negotiations in Costa Rica seem to be going nowhere. Supposedly the seven point plan on reaching an agreement was agreed to by Mel, with him getting back into power here, but giving up on any plans for ammending or throwing out the constitution to stay in power, etc....but the new government says no to any agreement that brings him back in power. "But if he says he will just serve out his term, no trying to stay in power or change the constitution, why not?" says the international press/governments. Today I read in the local paper that Mel said in Nicaragua that when he gets back....he will push for that constitutional reform again. No surprise there. Hollywood could not do better. Meanwhile back at the farm....life continues very much as normal for most of the country.

The grocery stores here for the most part now (versus my early memories of what they were like on my first trip) are very much like what they are in the US. However I saw this scene, and it just struck me as something I never saw in my local grocery. Sure, imitation crab meat on the right....but the octopus on the right, or the "assorted seafood" which sounds, and looks, to me to be the seafood equivalent of what you make hotdogs out of, and then the nicely prepared calamari in the bottom....which looks like if breaded and fried, would probably taste like onion rings.

Lastly, we sang a hymn this morning that I think I have sung before. Like much music however, sometimes the words get lost in the singing of them (at least for me) so I made it a point to find the words and study them a little more after the fact. I found it to be much more edifying, so I share it with you as well:

Verse 1 I saw the cleansing fountain, Open wide for all my sin, I obeyed the Spirit's calling when He said "Wilt thou be clean?"

Verse 2 Tho the way seems straight and narrow, All I claimed was swept away, My ambitions, plans and wishes At my feet in disarray.

Verse 3 Blessed be the name of Jesus! I'm so glad He took me in; He's forgiven my transgressions, He has cleansed my heart from sin.

Verse 4 Glory, glory to the Father! Glory, glory to the Son! Glory, glory to the Spirit! Glory to the Three in One!

Chorus:

I Will Praise Him! I will Praise Him! Praise the lamb for sinners slain; Give Him glory all ye people, for His blood can wash away each stain.

Lempira day

Where the kids go to school, today was Lempira day. If you do not know who Lempira is...check Wikipedia. Shortest version....he is the George Washington of Honduras, without the victory in the short term.

Dilcia let us borrow some duds for the kids to wear. Of course they tried out the braid (trenza in Spanish for you linguists out there) on Sisko first.

So here are their outfits...Cecilia very happy in hers....Soren's I doubt stayed on very long, it was kind of open on the sides (thus the belt) and he was happy with his shirt and shorts. I considered several different things he looked like...my favorite is a negative karate man. The shoes by the way are made out of some material and cardboard.

The political situation here seems to be reaching a boiling point...but for the most part there is just a lot of talk...from just about everyone but the US administration. Chavez more than makes up for their silence however with his own theories, etc. If you did not know better, you would Chavez is somehow in charge of the situation. I am still seeing some extreme reactions and exaggerations of how life is being affected for most of the population. The answer is that is has nto been changed hardly at all. Sure there are some opportunities for pictures to be taken or stories shared that would make things seem worse...but with very few exceptions....things are no different now living and moving around than they have been. Sure, this is not ideal, but we are not suffering really. It can be draining all this stuff, but when I think of my brothers and sisters in Africa, in China, in India (from which I received a letter just tonight about the very real threats they are receiving there) our problems to this point seem very minor. There, I said it.

Supposedly Mel is planning on coming back tomorrow (like I said...talk, talk, talk.) However in running today I did see that there were workers with generators and lights to work overnight on installing a third barrier of chain link fence with serpentine in the middle around the end of the airport where the protestors broke through the last time that Mel tried to come back. So I am left with thinking "hmmmm" and just trying to get ready for the group tomorrow getting some supplies, spending some family time, etc.

One last construction project around these parts for the near future, is finishing the serpentine wire around the man cave. It has been a while since a break-in, but it was one of those things that the timing was right, the price was right (the welder putting the pipes up was a package deal for also doing work on the bottom and top gate and doing all the metal work on the handrail at the clinic) so we went for it.






One other project got done last month, in the clinic, installing the bullet proof window for Levi...he was very happy. The window was not easy to get....Oscar actually procured it while in Costa Rica, but then getting it back here took some neat work. Good thing though was that it all worked out, and is now firmly in place.


Other than working with the groups that are coming though (one to arrive Monday, the next the first week of August), all the other construction big and small will probably come to a halt while we wait to see if the Church will sell the property to us, and as well to be careful with the funds we have to try to last us for a while for other projects.

To end on a light note...I was especially blessed Friday night to catch via internet magic three Ma and Pa Kettle movies on TCM. If you have never seen one...they are quite a hoot no matter your age. By the way, if you do not like them, well, then you must be a duckaloof. And with that, I bid you good night and may God bless you!

Talanga and more

So in talking with Celeo Tuesday, it appears we are in another one of those "good problem" situations. We had not planned on buying property or having funds to rent a big building because we were of little faith, or rather thinking that it would take some time to build up a flock. Celeo says there are already 50 people meeting there...they do not come close to fitting in the house they are using. If we keep taking groups there and God keeps multiplying....hmmmm. Maybe someone has a tent we could use? Perhaps an opportunity for buying property would present itself? He figures that through the studies he is giving, when they finish there will be at least 15 to be baptized. He was very impressed with the impact done from the medical brigade (did I mention the Church is over 50 now?) and he has several ideas about how to use CHE in the city, but is not sure how to go about the implementation...hopefully a visit from one of the facilitators that trained us earlier in the year next month will help in that regard.

Since clothing is being extremely rationed now until we get another container (all we have left are some purses which are harder to sell, and a few shoes to get everyone through the next two or three weeks) it has put more in the front of our minds that we need to also be helping the Churches with other methods of providing for themselves, and for their pastors. Coffee seems to be the future for Sampedrana, and likely in the future for San Juanctio as well. Talanga especially is more difficult for such ideas (property values, accessability to work the land, quality of the land) but we will keep seeing what opportunities are there.

The political situation....about the same. More talk of course, including more threats from the old president, and ol' Hugo baby down South (my favorite is during a press conference him defending "democracy" while he reads from Marx and the communist manifesto, and also proudly proclaiming that he has people who have infiltrated CNN) but for now...life stays normal for those like us....for people depending on tourism, restaurants, or other economic ventures, it is not so good. I have not asked around, but I am guessing the influx of groups is down all over as well.

Oscar and I met yesterday to plan what the next two groups will be doing....all very encouraging just talking about it, let alone actually getting to see it happen. Now we just need to pray that the aforementioned political situation does not cause problems in them being able to come. If things stay as they are now...it should not be a problem.

Fun-eral

If you know me, I have often been heard to say when talking about my own impending sweet departure...."remember what the first three letters in funeral are!" I can not take credit for noticing that first, but it has stuck with me for the past twenty years or so since I first heard it.

Funerals here are...different. Funerals in the rural areas are different even still. Sister Simona is with the Lord. The body she used to have is in the casket seen here. They decided to have a Church service in the building that for so many years she lent to the Church for services...rent free. It is a custom in rural areas to walk the body to the cemetery. If you have been to San Juancito...that meant walking from where the old Church was all the way out to the road back to Valle de Angeles. Not a short walk mind you...let alone if you are one of the four guys carrying the casket.


The cemetery is set on a hill, and is somewhat overgrown and under-developed. Here you can see an unsuspecting person trying to make her way to the burial in four or five inch heels (which kept sinking into the ground a little when she walked.) This was difficult not just walking the 45 minutes to the cemetery, but then up this grassy path (with mud....she got stuck) but it was quite impressive to see that through it all she never fell. This part was not really fun because we constantly thought she was going down, and then we would have to carry her out.


There were times of sharing, talking, working during all this. It always seems to take death for us to slow down and spend time with one another without feeling like we have somewhere to go, something else to do, etc. Talking with Jonathan and Celeo about the FAME medical brigade last month and how it has impacted the ministry (Jonathan with two new people coming to Church because of it, Celeo talking about the overwhelming spiritual and physical needs there...more on that in another blog) talking about CHE, talking about how disgusting nances are, and how good raspberry juice is at Don Quijotes (10 lempiras for a big glass) and how to make Celeo pay for the check by calling him "the mayor" when we walked in...all very good, but all with that undercurrent of the true reason for us getting together as well.


A grandson of Simona's. He was also at the anniversary service Sunday night...both then and here drunk. Celeo had worked with him and talked with him many times, at one point he was coming to Church. Here he just collapsed and Celeo was trying to help him. So many times we struggle for the right words when what we need to do is just share the ones we have.

I found myself thinking that at least a few times during this 10 hour trip. I was thinking of the child in Cantaranas, and how he was only two months younger than Soren. I thought about talking with Oscar and Julia about all this...and remembering they lost their first child when she was a month old. I especially thought about that because the baby died on Julia's birthday, and Marlon was buried on his sister's 8th birthday (they had the piñata and everything already bought in the house before this happened.) I especially thought about it when we went to see Miriam...as people just came in to hug her. What words could I share? Nothing like that even close has happened to me. I hugged her, and she said "I had happiness, and now they took it from me." I just said what came to mind...even with all the people surrounding us..."I do not know, others do not know, but God knows what it is like to lose a son, and I pray He would strengthen you and fill you with His Holy Spirit."


Then it was again off to the cemetery...walking. Both times I was (fortunately) enlisted to drive the Ford to carry some of the eldery and children...so they are not seen in this picture of the multitude approaching the cemetery. If you can not tell....it was quite a few folks.

Another pastor gave a good sermon as the boy was buried. And afterwords God had it that I walked out with Miriam. She said:

"God gave me four beautiful years with him and I thank Him for that. This is not going to discourage me...but make me seek Him all the more."

What a testimony....already impacting at least one person, and surely to impact even more.

Time for all things

This will be long...but a lot has happened in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday...was a long day. I knew I was supposed to preach in San Juancito since the group had to cancel. I had a sermon prepared, but in English, and did not have time last week to do another one...besides, the one I had seemed rather appropriate. However, I thought I better translate it ahead of time just to make sure there were no big differences between the Spanish and English translations, etc. So I spent the entire morning doing that, polishing, etc. We were out the door just after lunch, and off to Talanga in both Fords (Valerie and the kids with me....Oscar in the Blue Ford, and Julia and friends in their Land Cruiser with kids and cakes for the celebration....although they went straight to San Juancito.) Why take the Fords to Talanga first? There were "some people" that wanted to attend the services, knowing that Celeo (former pastor San Juancito) who is working in Talanga was previously working there. We pulled up about twenty minutes before we were supposed to be there....and I saw some people waiting in the clothing store.....and then like thirty people stormed out of the garage across the way and immediately into the bed...plus a few up front with us. Wow! I knew the meetings there were going well, but wow! Then when Oscar came about the same amount got in his truck.

The service was great, and although my sermon was long (although once I saw the order of service I scrambled to cut what I could...down from 45-50 to around 30 minutes) it was not the reason that it went around four hours. The special songs, the dramas done by the kids (some from San Juancito, some from Cantaranas) and just....well, there were probably 20 songs or more total if someone had counted. Let us look at some more pictures shall we?





Here is Gloria with the chicken she received as a gift as she walked in...but of course.











Here is a fairly good shot of some of the pews donated from Brazil Indiana via Carmel Indiana that were put together....they look great...and more importantly after four hours....felt even better. They have kept the plastic chairs....and for good reason, it was standing room only. I could see they let the kids play outside, with some adults standing out there as well.








My dear sister-in-law said she did not like Soren's hair cut. However, he made an instant friend in the service by finding someone of similar ilk. They liked the fact they had the same "do"













I also wanted to make sure to include a picture of the Land Cruiser as it went into service with Jonathan (pray for his driving skills as well....there is a long funny story there that involves me, the kids, and a couple police stops and u turns in traffic) with the carefully color coordinated bars on the back, and taking the stronger rims off the Mitsubishi before we sell it and putting them on this application. I had a chance to drive this vehicle....it was a rare type for its day, that is for sure, with the two fuel tanks, the AC, the five speed trans....I guess ol Pepe (the political candidate who is running for president this November) ordered her up just as he wanted it when he bought it new in '95.

So yesterday was a great celebration....a rejoicing of what God has done and continues to do. Today Oscar was working through how to help the clothing stores....including Talanga, San Juancito and Cantaranas. They got word that a dear sister, Simona, the one who had lent the building for the Church in San Juancito for so many years, finally has gone to be with the Lord. We will be going tomorrow for the funeral.

Then word came this afternoon....Miriam, the women who helps at the clothing store in Cantaranas, and has helped with almost every short term group that has done corn in that area, her three year old son was eating a piece of fruit, a mamon...the kind you pop out into your mouth, suck off the fruit, and then spit out the seed. He swallowed the seed....and died. I am not sure this is him in the picture...but I know that is Miriam's daughter. I have been to funerals before....for children before, but two funerals in two Churches in one day tomorrow will be an experience. Obviously we are praying for the Churches...and especially because in these times the world around us is especially careful to watch and judge the Church by how it responds to such crisis. Where is the faith? Is it alive, or dead?

As was shared yesterday in the service....times of suffering, of discipline come, God is encouraging us to keep running our race because we have been taken a hold of by him....he lifts us up, he picks us up....he hugs us and cries with us in times of sorrow. And in times of celebration when I saw people in their eighties jump up in joy last night after four hours of service to continue singing and praising God even as the service was over (some of you might remember the lady that lives at the top of San Juancito...Eva, with her glasses and all the work she helped do on the Church building...and other women as well) and helped get people back home that invested nearly 9 hours to praise God through the service between walking, buses, the pickup bed, and more walking in the pitch black night.

On one level I am hesitant to bring it up...but here you see people in the Church on the whole deal with tragedy after tragedy, all the more proclaiming God's sovereignty and love, and I know so many in other areas of the world that when the smallest inconvenience or problem arises...be it a job loss, the color of the carpet, or simply not being entertained enough by Church...they abandon what they formerly proclaimed. But I suppose that is a blog for another time.

No bells or whistles, just talk

I still have to talk about this political stuff? At least you have not had to read anything on this for several days. The stories keep churning out here locally of course, many of which are very interesting, but not worthy of full blog posts (like the evidence that shows Chavez may have been much more involved in Sunday's events than even previously speculated.)


Today begins some...well not negociations, as both sides have rejected that. Supposedly this will be dialoging, talking, chewing the fat if you will, with the president of Costa Rica being the mediator (these events transpiring there in San Jose today and tomorrow.) President Arias is a former Nobel peace prize winner, so there appears to be some hope there, and many of the world leaders all up in arms about the situation here seem to be on board with whatever comes of this...assuming something does in fact come from it.

Predications about the rest of the week? Well, if you paid attention to the graffiti that seems to have mushroomed lately, it would be onesided, which I always find interesting...I read the graffiti as I run, I see the sometimes extreme views, and I wonder about the mindset that allows for violating other's property, or public property meant to beautify the country and trashing it to make a point. It may just be me...but when I read such comments portrayed in such a way, it usually leads me to support the other side of whatever is written.



If you pay attention to the owners of many businesses around the airport...they are preparing for more problems. Given the costs involved of fixing such damage...I suppose that is not a bad idea. Nice wood they used...I wonder when things get back to normal if I could pick it up cheap. Hmmmm The kids were bummed though...play land not available.

Speaking of those kids...yesterday I took some time to spend with them. It struck me Monday night when Valerie came down from working in the office and I was on the laptop and said "Finished?" because it was time for bed and I replied without thinking "Never."


If I have enough work to keep me busy at every moment...it hit me that I should not wait until I get finished, because that is not happening, I need to just take time for other important things as well. No group here now, time to get reports, emails, accounting, and other tasks done...why not pick up the kids from school and do stuff with them?



You know, fun stuff like going to the grocery. After getting the goods, then we share a liquado. Of course, they would be happier if we all had our own, but sharing is important. This time we tried one with three ingredients....lime, strawberries, and more strawberries. The first drink or two was tart (and tart for me must be very tart) but was quite good. Today they went with me to get coffee for a friend, run to the bank, and take advantage of the mall's play land for a few minutes. Yet another time that I had to stop and remind myself....it is not about me. They thoroughly enjoyed it, and that is enough. Share some time over Star Trek and Wipeout, and overall more time spent with them, really spent with them, than in a long time.










I did enjoy this thoroughly however. Soren knows very little about Spiderman, but nevertheless embraces it to the full...and in lieu of a spiderman outfit, Batman works just as well.














And how does a cat sleep in a box of LEGOs? And why? These are the questions I ask myself on a daily basis.

Airport run

(If you are not interested in all the political/eye witness events of today, jump down to the part in bold)

So I did run past the airport today, at least the part where the violence was yesterday. Not that it was shocking, but I was surprised at how much graffiti there was....on walls, at the fast food places (at least five of the businesses along that way (about a city block long or so) were boarding up their windows) on the before very beautiful sculptures and monuments near the circular turn around. The surprising target of several pieces of the painting was the catholic cardinal here and one member of the press who does the nightly news and a roundtable discussion in the mornings (who has seemingly tried to keep objectivity while clearly having big problems with Mel and what he was up to/scheming/planning)

The amount of fence that had been torn out (and was being repaired) was also more than I was expecting. Today there were police inside the fence line standing guard, but not many. I also got a good glimpse of the defunct plane they pulled out to park near the touch point (and the big truck parked further down the runway.) I guess to prevent him from landing secretly they had to go to all that effort and close the airport for the whole day. If I was flying today...I would be a tad peeved.

Then I went to find where the young man had been killed. It was not hard to find. I presume the trail of blood that was still there was where he was shot. (I was running, so sorry for no pictures) The area was marked with old shoes as well...to protect the line (maybe 15 feet?)?? Not sure about that. I am no CSI or NCIS (I prefer NCIS by the way) but from the position where the blood was....it would seem to me the angle for the police to have shot him would have been extremely difficult if not impossible, unless he was jumping up or elevated somehow....again, if that is where he was shot. I was running, and I saw the police before, but could not see them from where I was standing by the trail of blood. I saw no blood anywhere else, but there was grass surrounding the area (this area was part of the little park/monument area where there was a stone path) which I suppose could have masked things, plus the great multitude of people around there yesterday. The human rights director mentioned in my other blog posting today also says the military was using rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowd, so that shot must have come from somewhere else. Very interesting. I am no conspiracy theorist, but it seems to me that for a human rights director, his conclusions seem remarkable for completely backing the military, even though from what I saw, I could be convinced it really did happen that way.

The Popeye's located just across the street was trashed...windows broken, workers working hard. I did not look too closely to see if there was damage inside as well, but it would stand to reason. Somehow...the gas station just across from that was servicing customers and looked to not have been affected at all.

Another day of debate, words, and little action. There is more talk of investigating crimes of the Zelaya administration, of how much money was being used for the illegal poll (over $2 million) that was not budgeted, and some interesting talk of controversy from Nicaragua where some people wonder where the OAS was with all their power when people complained (vociferously as I recall, with some protests "worse" than these) about fraudulent elections in the mayor's race last year in Managua. I will leave it to you to study and think about all that.

The kids did well on their tests, Valerie had a good day at the clinic....with Carlos there to start fixing the laundry list she has of things that need to be fixed, redone, or done in the first place, and Oscar reports giving out the last of the clothes and that Miguel the welder is on the task of putting up a railing on the new clinic (which can be folded down to give us access for moving big items in or out in the future...we actually thought ahead this time) and then over to the man cave to put up posts to be used for mounting serpentine wire next week, and then finally hopefully fixing the garage doors up by the mission house. Tomorrow Roberto should get the Land Cruiser Pickup finely tuned and ready for Jonathan after Gerson gets the metal tubing structure (similar to the other smaller beds in the Fords) installed on it tonight. After that I have more items that need fixed on the Musso.

I include all that minutiae from today to make a small point. We are just one small mission God has placed here. Look at all the people in the above paragraph I mentioned working. Sure, it is amazing to me even on a daily basis how much God has going on here, small stuff to make big stuff happen sometimes, but also when I continue to see press talking about how bad it is here...this is how many people we are interacting with today who are living lives as normal....not to mention how many people went through the clinic today.

I am grateful to be here...not grateful enough by the way, and happy to be alive...to be able to work here, to oversee all this and give God the glory for it all! I wanted to make a point here in this blog that has been too caught up on issues of state as of late, that while men might think they rule the world, God is large and in charge. Corny, but true....larger than all of our problems, than our worries, than our grief or ideologies, and in charge...sovereign over all things, despite what our eyes or other human senses might tell us. I think of I Corinthians 1:18-30....those that think they are smart on Earth...have another thing coming.

So when you see, hear, and think things that lead you down the path to thinking that there is no hope, or that things are not as they should be, remember just one little part of those verses.... "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."

Amen!

Are you sure?

I am tiring quickly of trying to keep up with the political scene here, it is just too hard to keep track of who said what, why, where, and for what reason. Without even trying to figure out the motive behind some of the events, let me just share what has my head spinning just this morning:

The fully non-veiled threats of Mr. Chavez towards the entire populace of Honduras are worded in a clever manner, but not very nice. I guess threats usually fall in that category. Mr. Ortega's threats are not as entertaining, but just as concerning...if not so much for Honduras (I am not personally feeling threatened or anything like that) than for any other nation that happens to get in their view of what is right and wrong. It is hard to argue success though...they seem to be gathering support for their organization of socialist states (nine countries so far) and they have almost full international support behind them and Mel in this particular problem.

The government here says no way is Mel coming back to power, but wants to negotiate with the OAS. Some are saying the US needs to negotiate....there seems to be plenty of people already offering their services (presidents/people from just about every LA country...maybe even Grenada, who knows.) Other than negotiating Mel's return to power....what else is up for grabs has not been defined, just that it should be in "good faith."

Then today I see posted on El Heraldo's main page that the director of the human rights commission here in Honduras (Ramón Custodio) says that it was not the military that fired the shots that killed the young man at the airport yesterday. I believe I saw something else posted earlier alleging that the shots came from the protestors themselves. However another paper report said he was killed by ammunition from a M-16. So, military or crowd M-16? Hmmmm

More marches are planned...again, all that I have seen planned are for here in Teguc, and now there are several stories on the newspaper sites that say parents are complaining that the schools around town (conveniently closed because the teachers are protesting...wanting Mel back) are being used at night to house Mel sympathizers/foreigners, and another muckity muck (Héctor Iván Mejía) says that they have identified (how not shared yet) among the protestors supporting Mel citizens from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. I presume they were not foolish enough to send them wearing shirts that said "Fidel or Daniel or Hugo sent me to protest in Honduras and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" so who knows how they were able to ascertain this.

And yet again despite what the TV personalities would tell you, life continues in normalcy around these parts today. If it is normal where we live (close to the airport)...then imagine the rest of the country that is not center stage for all this. Without supporting one side or the other: there is no military rule here, the people are not cowering in fear, the curfews at night really affect very few (most people know better than to venture out much at night here anyway...and I for one am surprised to find myself thinking having curfews all the time would not bother me at all) and such curfews are not a "military lock down." If you...or a TV network...supports one side or the other, I can understand that...but to blow things so far above reality to make for a more shocking newsletter or entertaining show is just not right. Making things up, or just sensationalism is not being responsible...whether you owe that responsibility to your Savior or lacking Him, the very cause you claim to support.

So I can see more close up, I am going to go run, this time specifically trying to pass by close to the airport to see what all happened/was damaged/etc. something I would not do if I was scared or frightened. I doubt I find anything too out of the ordinary this afternoon.

Sunday bloody Sunday

In case you were wondering...I do not set out to title these blog posts, I just write whatever comes to me as I sit here to type. Today's title gave me no pleasure to write.

At this writing there is one dead from the protestors that showed up at the airport in anticipation of the ex-president's plane arriving from El Salvador. From the reports I have seen, he apparently tried to break through the fence that protects the airport...which protest or not, is a big no-no anytime. I do not think anyone knows for sure how many protestors there were...but embassy estimates were over 12,000. I could see and hear much from my office window, but the actual ruckus happened at the other end of the runway. I could see some of it via television (when the new government did not force the channels off the air for stale repeats of previous press conferences and speeches by Catholic and Evangelical honchos....a very obvious ploy to control the information being distributed) and those facing the army were throwing rocks and some had bandanas covering their faces, etc. The army fired some shots in the air, and some tear gas as well.

When the president's plane (a nice private jet...supposedly Venezuelan by registry) flew over...the roars of cheering was like when we score a goal in world cup qualifying. All the cheering was coming from the protestors. However, the plane did not land....the military stationing vehicles on the runway. The airport officials/governmental FAA types said the plane was denied landing, filed no flight plan, etc. Like they did not know he was coming.

As it was obvious Mel was not going to land, another announcement came out that the normal curfew (imposed since last week) was being changed from 9pm to 6:30....leaving possibly just enough time for the group of protestors to go...somewhere. I guess they wanted everyone to disperse quickly eh?

Long story short...Mel has promised to try to return in the coming days, possibly using alternative means of transport. I could make a joke here, but I am really just not in the mood. Politically things will still be up in the air until he either gets back in country and it is figured out what to do (back in power, or to jail for a trial for all these charges they have against him) in my opinion. As long as they keep this dance up of not letting him back in...the situation will only fester. The idea the new government is saying is that by preventing him from entering, they are avoiding more violence, etc. I am not sure how much longer that dog is going to hunt.

Union Christian Church cancelled services this morning. We went to ICCC, which was as full as normal. Jorge gave a sermon tailored for these events...basically saying we are called to suffer, to rejoice in those sufferings, and glorify and be a testimony to God through all of those. Are we ready? He went on to list the ways we could be persecuted in the future...which are already happening all over the world, and could be coming in other parts. I must admit that I have had some scary scenarios play through my head in the past week. Just the idea of running this afternoon and leaving Valerie and the kids alone...

However, all is well, the power never went out, and the kids had a good afternoon of playing, making tents, we made bubbles (thanks Susan) and then watched a dead gecko be carried away by ants...which was very cool. (Also while doing this I was watching events around the airport.) School is supposed to go on as scheduled tomorrow, Valerie will be at the clinic....and I will be talking to those in the clothing ministry.

There are no more clothes, and Master Provisions will not be able to get us more until the end of the month likely. Yikes. Please pray for more outlets for good used summer clothes to be used here in Honduras. Through what Master Provisions is able to send us, so many are helped, Churches are able to do so much....it hurts to see that struggle when we can not get clothes. Pastors have no salary, evangelists that serve full time have no offerings to help them live, and the Churches lose a great outreach. If you know of a Church or organization that would be able to help in the search of good used summer clothes, please let me know.

Other side of the bridge

Yesterday was a big day. I had no time to blog, and was not home terribly long. It started with a meeting with Jorge, Jorge, and Manuel (Pastor, Evangelist, and Pastor) at ICCC. The conversation started with a discussion on politics. For the congregation, they have been staying neutral, but it was obvious talking to them that they do not share my opinion on what is happening here. So instead of arguing/discussing/rebuttel, I just listened. Good thing too, because even without a counter point, that went on for quite a while. Some of it seemed like propogating rumors, some just a different view. I will summarize their points with my commentary thrown in for good measure: There is no true peace in Honduras because those that want to protest that live in the outlying areas are not being allowed to come into town to do so. (there was no proof of this, but it would not be terribly surprising to see happen) the change in government most certainly was a coup, not legal, and wrong, not to mention that they doubt the sincerity of the current president and think that the military is still in control with the veil of a civilian government. (proof? No, but again, it makes for an interesting theory...and the last part that two of the three said they knew people for whom this was the case:) some of the pro-democracy marches have those included from big businesses where their employers force the employees to go out and march. (I heard the same allegations from public government employees about being forced to march for Zelaya before he was removed)

They seemed to think the march towards socialism/communism was going to continue unabated, and that the consequences would be severe for Christ's Church...not in fear did they say this, more in just an acceptance of what they see as inevitable. There is no room for Christ, or other religions in Communism, and so the Church would undergo even more persecution. They did not therefore seem to be big Mel fans, but at the same time seem to speak the same words that pro-Mel people do....that big business and rich people want the democracy/new government, while the poor support Mel and/or change. My thoughts are that the poor move wherever the money (corruption in politics, buying votes, etc. is widely known here, and you can even find videos on you tube from Mel Zelaya himself where he states the same...so much for the public speaking, money and pressure is what wins elections) is offered. More to the point...the poor see little to no change in their lives no matter what party is in power, so when they see no change, and someone comes along offering change...what do they have to lose? Those in power tremble, but the poor look to some change of some kind to improve their lives. Each side claims they will help...the truth is that poverty is still around...no one seems to have made an impact one way or another. Reasons may include corruption, the overwhelming nature of the problem, etc....but the bottom line is "what have you done for me lately?"

Just some thoughts there.

We then talked about the mission and the possibilities of buying the Church property where the clinic, old clinic, and man cave are located, something we have been thinking about and praying about for some time. No definite answers yet, but all three of them were in favor of the idea. The benefits would be added security for us, income for them to help build the new Church building, and separation of our somewhat merged areas of operation when it comes to legal issues. Working together as brothers and sisters in Christ would not change (helping with the fence, the ministry of the clinic, having groups help with corn, teaching, etc.) , but it would eliminate them from worrying about any consequences of us being on their property (there are legal issues there), and us having to worry about any future change in power causing us potential problems of being booted.

The pastors now need to meet with the leaders of the Church to see about their views on the possibility, and if positive, figuring out a price. We are far from being sure it is a done deal, but it seems positive at this point. We are now praying the Church will be behind the idea, and we can move forward....to having that security that many donors would have liked to have seen 10 years ago, as well as have the added bonus of being able to fundraise for that property which will in effect provide help to them to get closer to the new building. Buying property and building a nice, new, long lasting professionally done building for the Church seems like a win/win for us. We would switch focus from fixing the man cave and remodeling the mission house most likely to try to devote resources first to paying this "debt."

I went out yesterday afternoon to stock up on groceries....things we could eat if there was no electricity or our ability to leave home was disturbed due to the impending return of the former president. I took the kids, and we got quite a bit done, and then to reward them I stopped by the mall close to our house for them to have fun in the play area in the food court. As God would have it, Oscar and his family was there....so instead of just watching the kids, Oscar and I had a business meeting in the food court for probably two hours while the kids ran, and ran, and ran. No group next week means tackling some legal issues, our residency, further trying to get the new clinic where it needs to be, and several other little things which have been on the back burner for some time. Not that I would have wished for this...but making the best out of a less than ideal situation, if you will.

So, is Mel back? Are there troops massed on the Nicaraguan border? Are there a ton of Nicaraguans already in Honduras stirring up dissent (ala the US using Honduras to hit Nicaragua twenty years ago....Daniel Ortega has a good memory after all)? Will our abandoning the OAS bring problems? What will happen this weekend? All good questions to which even more rumors abound. I do not have the answers, and while we continue to keep our eyes open physically, they are also closed spiritually in prayer to Him who is above all things. Come what may...God rules. So we will continue to move in His work regardless.

And in case you are wondering about us returning to the US...don't bet on it. We have the kids' passports, but ours are with our lawyer who is working on our residency. I suppose we could have asked for them back...but we do not see a need for having them at this time. I guess that says more about the resolve that has been given us than anything else at this point, and the relative seriousness of the situation right now as well.

As a brother said yesterday...the sky is not falling. I will try to update more when I have more information.

Waiting and watching

I am waiting for Roberto to bring back the Blue Ford from repairs. I can not eat since interrupting to go let him in and such would be a bummer, so I am taking time to blog.

Today has been a very hard day. Not only for me emotionally and physically, but for Valerie and Oscar, and in some respects for them, that affects me as well. I do not know all the details for them...but Satan is trying to divide us, to discourage us, and more. We will continue to run our races, but it is hard, which happens sometimes...not like it is a surprise or anything.

It got harder as I just learned a few minutes ago that the group that was to come next week just cancelled. I can understand the aprehensiveness there of course over the political scene, but it is still disappointing knowing how much we would/could have accomplished with them here, especially knowing that at least at this point, things are safe enough for groups for sure. This whole political thing does affect us in more ways than one, especially this big way...can you imagine how much more of Honduras is being affected than just one small mission? How about where we would have visited, what we would have done outside Teguc, on the property, etc.? Political and economic damage is measured...but this...is harder to conceive.

That political situation seems unchanged today. Will Mel come back to Honduras on Saturday? I hope so...happens whatever happens, let us just get it over with and move on, wherever that would take us. I hope he does not get back into power...what kind of message does that send to all the really corrupt, ignorers of the law out there? Oh wait, we already send plenty of messages to them in Iran, North Korea, and China among others. Ok, I will take a breath, say a prayer and move forward.

So the work will continue, things will go on...but I will probably be in my funk for a little while longer, not self pity just wallowing and staying still, but struggling to get out and move on in search of what He would have for us. Tough times come, and will continue to come...what matters is how we react through the faith given to us. I pray we will be guided and act in such a way to give glory to God whom alone is worthy.